SEAMUS McKeogh from the Ballina-Killaloe area of North Tipperary was one of six racehorse owners in April to win a bonus from the Weatherbys ITBA National Hunt Fillies Bonus Scheme.

The Ballycorrigan Stud owner received an extra €7,500 on top of the prize money when his Tountinna won a mares’ maiden hurdle at Cork on Easter Sunday. The mare is trained in Nenagh by Maike Magnussen, a former show jumper who arrived in Ireland from Germany in 2012 and has established herself as a very dedicated trainer of thoroughbreds.

Seamus has been breeding for over 20 years, taking over from his father who produced half-breds. His foundation mare was the French-bred Norabelle who bred the 2019 Thyestes Chase winner Invitation Only. He also bred Gold Present, whose five wins included the Listed Silver Cup Handicap Chase at Ascot in 2017.

Tountinna’s dam Clairisfirth was retained by Seamus but did not race. “She was leased out at one stage but she got a leg so we took her home,” the breeder told us. “Tountinna (by Order Of St George) is her first foal to race. Barry O’Neill and Jordan Gainford have a three-year-old full-brother who could go down the point-to-point route. She had a filly foal by Hurricane Lane last year who was sold to Peter Nolan. Normally we sell the colts as foals and keep the fillies until they are three, possibly race one or two of them.”

Seamus says he selected Maike as his trainer as he noted she was doing well in point-to-points. “She is based close to me and she is doing a great job with a small number of horses. Maike is a phenomenal worker and very genuine. She puts a lot into the game.”

The McKeoghs had a memorable Easter Sunday at Cork Racecourse and the form of Tountinna’s race is working out nicely. Runner-up Poetic Sound was beaten by just a neck in a similar race at Killarney this week.

So what’s next for Tountinna? Seamus reports: “She’s on a little break and will be aimed at some blacktype races when she returns to the track. We think she is capable of getting some blacktype before coming back to the stud.”